Aspiring postal carrier, 7, with cancer gets mail truck of his own: 'That is awesome'

Santa Ana, California mail carrier wanted to make sure boy got his wish

Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Aspiring postal carrier, 7, gets mail truck of his own

Nearly two years ago, the boy was diagnosed with stage 4 Wilms, a childhood cancer that starts in the kidneys, and spread to his lungs.

LAGUNA NIGUEL, Calif. -- A sunny southern California 7-year-old recently got a huge surprise -- his very own personal postal truck delivered to his doorstep.

Jacob Hayward could barely contain his excitement.

This delivery is years in the making, and it started with him, KABC reported.

"I wanted to make sure his wish was taken care of," Santa Ana postal carrier Van Singletary said.

Singletary has watched the Hayward kids grow up.

His daily trips to the mailbox were the highlight of the day for Jacob and his little sister, Ava.

Jacob's joy from the job was a welcomed distraction from the health troubles he is battling.

Nearly two years ago, he was diagnosed with stage 4 Wilms, a childhood cancer that starts in the kidneys, and spread to his lungs.

He's gone through at least 50 rounds of chemo and has had radiation treatments and surgeries.

And for more than one month, Jacob was forced to remain isolated in his hospital room.

"All the doctors, nurses, child life specialists, even patients, other kids on other floors would write him a note, knowing that he wasn't able to leave his room. So it was excitement for him every day to check the mailbox," his mom said.

So for his 7th birthday, Jacob's mom thought of the best gift they could give.

She asked Singletary if Jacob could tour their local post office.

And he delivered on that and so much more.

"That is awesome," Jacob said of his new truck.

The aspiring postal carrier got a brand new uniform, too.

"Thank you all for just doing this. This is like so sweet of you. I just like don't know what to say right now. Thank you so much," the boy said.

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